A new study, presented at a conference in Lisbon, finds that using artificial sweeteners instead of regular sugar could raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The research included 27 healthy people who were either given sweeteners, the equivalent of 1.5 liters of diet drink, or an inactive placebo. At the end of two weeks, the tests showed that those supplements saw a heightened response across all analyses.

Lead author Prof Richard Young said: “This study supports the concept that artificial sweeteners could reduce the body’s control of blood sugar levels and highlights the potential for exaggerated post-meal glucose levels in high habitual NAS [non-caloric artificial sweeteners] users, which could predispose them to develop type 2 diabetes.”

A new study, published in the Journal of Hematology, adds to the growing body of evidence that consuming too high amount of sweetened beverages linked to the higher risk of fatty liver disease in children.

Having studied 271 obese children and adolescents within the study, the researchers found that children and adolescents who consumed high amounts of fructose, mostly from sweetened beverages, were more likely to have non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Senior investigator Dr. Valerio Nobili, of the Bambino Gesu Hospital in Italy, says: “In the study, we show for the first time that uric acid concentrations and dietary fructose consumption are independently and positively associated with NASH.”